For years, social media and ecommerce have been reaching in the other’s direction, and we’re beginning to see social commerce in its infancy. Social networks have become a major way to improve the shopping process and increase your customer service. Many companies have found social-media success through old-fashioned, real-world sales practices.

Facilitating Consumer Interaction

It’s old news that friends, family and peers influence consumers and their purchases most. That’s true online, too. In a Click Z study, 81% of respondents said they’d received advice from friends and followers relating to a product purchase through a social networking site, and 74% found the advice to be influential. Encouraging and moderating this exchange of ideas between customers helps create an important, productive environment outside of the shopping experience.

Dell manages several different Twitter feeds designed for people to discuss niche subjects and products, and has empowered consumers with IdeaStorm, an online forum where Dell talks directly to their customers. Dell gains meaningful insight into what their customers are looking for and is able to provide superior service by incorporating those ideas into future product launches. Since its inception, IdeaStorm has received more than 10,000 ideas from customers and Dell has implemented nearly 400 of them.

Real-Time Customer Service

Social networking enables companies to be constantly connected to customers and gives them endless opportunities to appease and impress. Customers no longer have to wait in long lines or listen to muzak while being placed on hold to have their problems solved. Connected and responsive companies are able to solve customer issues in real-time, as they’re happening — creating a happy customer who’s more likely to give positive word-of-mouth referrals (through social networks of course).

Southwest Airlines has become quickly reputable for addressing issues via Twitter and has hired a seven-person staff to manage their efforts. They field tweets that are directed to them or indirectly about them, provide a fun, personalized responses and follow-up with disgruntled customers. Sometimes they are even able to fix problems while the customer is still in the terminal, putting out a potential fire before it starts. Real-time responses create goodwill among content and unsatisfied customers alike.

Establishing a Human Connection

In the past, ecommerce was missing one of the essential elements of the sales process — customer interaction. Having a human face behind the brand establishes affinity and instills a sense of comfort and trust. You might not be able to shake hands through the Internet to seal the deal, but creating a warm, personal online profile can do wonders for you brand.

The CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, manages the company’s Twitter in an honest, hilarious and transparent fashion (even his cat has a Twitter account). This unconventional, laissez-faire approach is being met with positive responses, and literally millions of followers. The human element brings life to the brand and goes to show that people will do business with a likable salesman in any setting.

So thank you social media, for allowing companies to exercise these tried-and-true sales practices in a new, efficient and prosperous medium. Because of these early success stories and the growing popularity of social networking, social commerce is and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. As consumers become increasingly sophisticated online (and as more moms join Facebook), it will be crucial for companies to maintain strong, dynamic presences on social sites.